Photographer captures the art of hairstyling

British photographer Rankin has dedicated his latest exhibit to the art of hairstyling.

British photographer Rankin has dedicated his latest exhibit to the art of hairstyling. (S Magazine by LFI / Leica Photographie International)

Liesl Bradner

Two years ago British photographer Rankin opened a pop-up gallery on Melrose Avenue to showcase his vast body of work. Eleven shows later, he is celebrating his final exhibit of 37 photos. His focus? The art of hairstyling.

The show, titled "S Magazine: The Rankin Issue," opened Wednesday and runs through mid-February. The photographs were featured in a 200-page edition of Leica Camera's S Magazine (Rankin shot all the images using the new Leica S-System).

The photographer worked with nine world-renowned hairstylists to create his images. "I had it in my head to do a book on hairdressers," said Rankin, 46. "I just let them creatively direct their own shoots and see what they came up with.

"My intention with this series was for it to feel like a different photographer shot each session," said Rankin (who was born John Rankin Waddell). During his two-decade career he has worked with the likes of Madonna, the Rolling Stones, and Queen Elizabeth II, and on campaigns for H&M, Hugo Boss and L'Oreal.

Concepts for the photos in the current exhibit range from Tina Outen's '40s Hollywood glamour to Kevin Ford's edgy masks made out of braids and strands of hair tied across the face.

For Alain Pichon's futuristic themed "The Glow," the stylist crafted hair, wigs, clothes and jewelry with strings of fiber-optic lights.

For Rankin, it was an exciting proposal to step outside the boundaries of typical commercial work and create something original. "You feel like you're breaking ground," Rankin said.